This was an offense that happened when Josh was a minor. He was never convicted (by the time the police started investigating, the statute of limitations had run out and the detective who initially talked to Josh was a personal friend of Jim Bob and is currently in jail for child pornography). Not only has his offense been made public, but the victims are trying to maintain privacy, including asking for the police report to be destroyed.
This shouldn’t be something we condone or accept. Outing victims of crimes against them as children without their permission is wrong. Deciding that because someone is a celebrity of some minor status that their juvenile record is fair game is a troubling precedent.

When a celebrity family is exposed as less than perfect, the fallout is ugly. It’s no less damaging for non-famous families when things come crashing down and bad things happen, though. Our view of the Duggars is changed. The virtuous family that we’d been sold was a virtual figment of our imaginations. Reality TV has once again proved to be anything but. Real life has a messy way of resisting scene cuts and editing.

Instead we are left with an all-too-real family that has fallen short of their bubbly image. A man that grew up in front of the camera has had a troubling and dark past exposed. Women that had no choice in being abused continue to have no choice in becoming public fodder. If we try to find the good in this situation, it is that we have the opportunity to open conversations about what sexual abuse in families looks like. There isn’t a way to change what has happened, but there are ways to try to prevent things like this from happening again.